Even if it’s not a discussion you can respect my intelligence

Daniele Catalanotto
Oct 3, 2022


A Service Design Principle to show respect at any time.

You fall pretty badly. Your leg is hurt. You go to the hospital, where after being checked by a doctor, you learn that there is just one surgery that can save your leg. As there is no choice, why bother explaining your stuff or asking if you are okay with it? A doctor in a hurry could just go on and perform the surgery? Right?!

If a doctor just performs surgery without asking you anything, you feel like shit and maybe even violated! When you have no choice in a situation, you can think you have lost all your power over your own life. And this feels terrible.

This situation shows that as service creators, we must change our mindset when we feel there is no choice. There is always a choice. First, a person can always decide to do nothing and live with the consequences of that unexpected and maybe irrational choice. Second, it’s not because we can’t change something that we can’t change how we approach and experience it (1).

There are a few tips we can learn from smart doctors (2) to help people experience “no choice” moments in an empowered way,

As always, you can explain why it is wise to make that decision. You can then show why that’s the only reason with a little drawing that shows that the other solutions just don’t work. Finally, you can offer an opportunity for curiosity. You can offer a moment of learning for the person. The patient can’t change what needs to happen, but at least he can learn from it.

Small interactions show that staff members recognize that the person you are interacting with is smart!

So let me ask you this:

What’s one part of your service or product that you think is too complex for your users to understand how it works in the backstage? How can you reveal to them how it works and why it has to work in that specific way?

Footnotes

(1) It’s similar to the idea that they teach you in mindfulness practice. You can’t change the waves of the ocean. But you can decide how you’ll ride them.

(2)Thanks to Loris Olivier, who told me how he felt during a doctor’s appointment. His story and the way the medical team interacted with him inspired several service design principles, and this is one of these. Thanks, mate.

Daniele's personal notes

  • This is the first draft of this Service Design Principle.
  • Once adapted, even more, this principle could be part of the book "Service Design Principles 201-300"
  • As always feel free to share comments, feedback or personal stories to improve this principle.
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Daniele Catalanotto
Oct 18, 2022

The second draft of this Service Design Principle

You hurt your leg pretty badly. Shit. The doctor tells you there is only one surgery that can save your leg. There is no choice.

So why should the doctor explain stuff to you? Why should he ask if you are okay with it? A doctor in a hurry could go on and perform the surgery. Right?

If the doctor does that, you’ll feel like shit and even violated! When you have no choice, you feel you have lost all your power over your own life. And this feels horrible.

As service creators, we must change our mindset about such “no choice” moments: there is always a choice!

A person can always decide to do nothing and live with the consequences! Smart doctors (1), for example, explain why it is wise to make that decision. They show why how the only solution works with a little drawing. And then show why the other solutions suck. That’s when they ask: “So do we do it?”.

It’s not because we can’t change something that we can’t change how we approach and experience it (2)! For example, smart doctors can offer an opportunity for curiosity. You can offer a moment of learning for the person. The patient can’t change what needs to happen, but at least he can learn from it.

So let me ask you this:

What backstage part of your service or product do you feel is too complex for your users to understand? How can you reveal to them how it works and why it has to work in that specific way?

Footnotes

(1)Thanks to Loris Olivier, who told me how he felt during a doctor’s appointment. His story and the way the medical team interacted with him inspired several service design principles, and this is one of these. Thanks, mate.

(2) It’s similar to the idea that they teach you in mindfulness practice. You can’t change the waves of the ocean. But you can decide how you’ll ride them.

Daniele's personal notes

  • This is the second draft of this Service Design Principle.
  • I’ve reduced the length of this principle by 22% compared to its first draft.
  • I’ve restructured the text for my clarity by linking the two key ideas (you can choose to say no and you can experience the issue differently) with examples of how smart doctors did it in the situation of my mate Loris
Daniele Catalanotto
Oct 31, 2022

The third draft of this Service Design Principle

You have a severe accident. Unfortunately, there is only one surgery to save your leg.

So why should the doctor explain stuff to you and ask for your consent? You feel you’ve lost all your power over your life when you have no choice. And that’s shitty!

As service creators, we must change our mindset about such “no choice” moments: there is always a choice! It’s not because we can’t change something that we can’t change how we approach and experience it (3)!

A person can always decide to do nothing (1) and live with the consequences! That’s why smart doctors (2), for example, offer curiosity and explain why it is wise to make that decision. They show how this solution works with a drawing and explain why the others suck. Then they ask: “So do we do it, or do you want to sleep on it?”.

So let me ask you this:

What part of your service do you feel is too complex for people to understand? How can you reveal to them how it works and why it has to work in that specific way?

Footnotes

(1) See the principle “Remember doing nothing is always an option” from this same book to go further.

(2) A big thank you to Loris Olivier for sharing the service experience that inspired this principle with the co-creator community.

(3) It’s similar to the idea that they teach you in mindfulness practice. You can’t change the waves of the ocean. But you can decide how you’ll ride them.

Daniele’s notes

  • This is the third draft of this principle.
  • I’ve reduced the length of this principle by 28 % compared to the previous draft.